Generally brake lever devices comprise a housing fixed to a handle and a brake lever pivoted to the housing and coupled to a rim brake or the like by a Bowden cable, such that the brake is operated by pivotally moving the lever.
The brake lever of this type is generally L-shaped and includes a portion pivoted to the housing and an operating portion for pivotally moving the lever. The corner portion between the pivoted portion and the operation portion has a connecting hole by which a fixing member at the end of the inner wire of the Bowden cable is supported rotatably relative to the lever. The lever is further formed, in communication with the connecting hole, with an insertion groove for inserting the inner wire therethrough when fitting the fixing member into the hole and a cut groove for avoiding the contact of the inner wire when the lever is operated. The brake lever further has a pivot hole for rotatably attaching the lever to the housing.
The brake lever of the above construction is usually made from a light alloy rod of circular cross section by forging. Since the connecting hole, the insertion groove and the cut groove are to be formed in the corner portion, the corner portion must have a larger width than the pivoted portion or the operating portion. Accordingly the diameter of the rod to be forged is so determined that the corner portion will have a sufficient width. Consequently forging of the operating portion of reduced width results in an excess of material which must be cut away and wasted, necessitating labor for finishing. Furthermore, the portion of the lever to which the fixing member of the inner wire is to be attached requires a cumbersome machining procedure for forming the connecting hole, the insertion groove and the cut groove to entail a low manufacturing efficiency and an increased cost.
On the other hand, the housing is integrally formed with a portion for supporting a holder for holding the end of the outer wire of the Bowden cable, so that the housing is complicated in shape in its entirety and is unfit for mass production.